Fender Vendor
Too late for Father's Day (unobserved in our household, which tends to eschew Hallmark holidays), the limited edition miniature Fender guitar replicas produced by GMP are cunningly crafted die-cast fetish objects for both weekend guitar heroes and those who worship the real deals.
Buddy Holly, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Muddy Waters, Mark Knopfler, and Jeff Beck all played the Fender Stratocaster, one of the twentieth century's most beautiful audio and visual icons. GMP's one-third sized replica of the Strat includes flickable pickup selection switches, twirlable volume and tone controls, and a removable tremolo bar. I've known many a guitarist who's bought an instrument based on looks over sound, so this is a heck of a bargain at $50; Clapton's black Strat went for a million bucks at Christie's in 2004, after all. GMP also sells foot-high faux Strats in red, black, and sunburst finishes, butterscotch and sunburst Telecasters, three Fender basses, and a scaled rack for display.
GMP actually specializes in tiny cars rather than guitars. I'm weirdly drawn to their boy-toy dioramas of mechanics, a chop shop, racing legend Carroll Shelby, and a lovable yet vaguely menacing Southern sheriff right out of Smokey and the Bandit. Hm. Maybe there's something to this Father's Day thing after all.